Mark Anderson, renowned cardiac expert and medical leader, named to lead University of Chicago Medicine

Mark Anderson, a renowned scholar, physician and caregiver, has been appointed to lead the University of Chicago’s field-defining work in medicine and biological sciences as Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences and Dean of the Pritzker School of Medicine, effective October 1, 2022.

Anderson comes to the leadership of the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he is director of the Department of Medicine, the William Osler Professor of Medicine and physician-in-chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Before moving to Johns Hopkins in 2014, he led the Cardiovascular Research Center and the Department of Medicine at the University of Iowa and served on the medical faculty at Vanderbilt University where he directed educational and clinical programs.

“Mark is an extraordinarily talented and globally respected medical leader who is committed to an ambitious agenda of basic, translational and clinical research, while preparing the next generation of scholars, clinicians and leaders in biological sciences and academic medicine,” said University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos. “Mark is in a strong position to lead growth of our clinical enterprise and will have a significant focus on the expansion of UCM’s regional health system.”

“As we got to know Mark, it became clear that he is the right partner to collaborate across the University and lead the many facets of the University of Chicago Medicine and the Division of the Biological Sciences,” said Provost Ka Yee C. Lee. “We extend to him a warm welcome to our intellectual community.”

Anderson will lead the medical and biological research, education, care delivery, and community engagement enterprise for UChicago Medicine, the Division of the Biological Sciences, and the Pritzker School of Medicine. Reporting to Alivisatos, he will work closely with leaders across the University and UChicago Medicine to lead a transformation agenda aimed at driving growth of UChicago Medicine and integrating the academic and clinical programs to leverage the strengths of each and enhance their impact.

“The University of Chicago Medicine is in a distinctive position to lead the search for discoveries, to train brilliant and compassionate caregivers, and to provide the highest level of medical care and service to our communities,” said Brien O’Brien, Chair of the University of Chicago Medical Center Board of Trustees. “We are delighted that Mark Anderson will bring his inspired leadership and deep experience to this mission.”

A vital part of Anderson’s duties will be leadership of UChicago Medicine’s efforts to enhance community health, health equity, and access to care for communities in Chicago’s South Side and beyond.

“I am thrilled and humbled to join the University of Chicago community, and look forward to the opportunity to work across the University and the South Side to promote biomedical discovery, education and health,” Anderson said.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in biology with honors from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, Anderson earned a PhD in physiology and an MD from the University of Minnesota. At Stanford University, he completed an internal medicine residency and fellowships in cardiology and clinical cardiac electrophysiology, before joining Vanderbilt’s medical faculty in 1996. He moved to the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in 2005 and served as chairman and department executive officer of internal medicine in addition to leading Iowa’s Cardiovascular Research Center.

Anderson’s scholarly work, commitment to education and medical leadership have earned international recognition, and he is a leading expert on the mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure. His research is focused on the role of the calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias, which are a common cause of sudden cardiac death. He has published more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and book reviews, has given invited talks across the United States and in more than a dozen nations, and has been included over many years in the Castle and Connolly listing of the top doctors in the U.S. In 2017, Anderson was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

In his leadership roles at Johns Hopkins, Anderson oversees more than 700 full-time faculty members and clinicians across 18 academic divisions, nearly 3,000 staff members and trainees, 300,000 clinic visits, and an annual research portfolio of more than $200 million in the last year. At Johns Hopkins, Mark led the Department of Medicine’s efforts in securing philanthropy, raising approximately $20 million to $40 million annually.

In a message announcing the news to the UChicago community, Alivisatos thanked Executive Vice President Kenneth Polonsky for his leadership of the University of Chicago Medical Center, the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine. Polonsky will become Senior Advisor to the President at the end of September 2022 and will remain a tenured faculty member at UChicago.